New look, new focus!

I obviously took a bit of a hiatus from blogging - but have been thinking quite a bit lately about starting up again. So here I am. But with a new look and a new focus on what I'll be sharing.

Over the past few months there have been many changes in our house - namely the hubby transitioning to being a full-time student / slash / full-time puppy caretaker.  Although my world has been spinning, I haven't felt very interesting. I have been working a lot (which has taken me on travels to UK, Panama, and a few domestic trips) and worked weird hours on different projects.  And I felt like I didn't really have a focus on what I wanted to share.

There has been one theme in particular that has been a topic of thought (and conversation) with several members of my family and friends - health. I have been rather inconsistent with my efforts to be healthy. Like any other woman, my weight has fluctuated and I have been on more diets than I can count. (Like the egg diet in college. Did I mention that I detest hard boiled eggs??) There have been some spurts where I have been pretty diligent about going to the gym - but tend to fall off the bandwagon (often in a big way!)  For the past month or so I have been trying out a "clean eating" lifestyle, which focuses on eating loads of whole foods (fresh veggies and fruits), and avoiding processed foods, white flour, and sugar.  I also joined the gym down the street from my house and am really excited to have a spinning class that is literally 2 minutes from me. But finding the time to stick to my health goals has been a bit of a challenge - and to be honest I have not worked as hard as I can.

Another topic that has been on my mind lately is sticking to a budget. Going from 2 incomes to 1 has been an adjustment, as you can imagine. I have tried to be a smart shopper - and dabbled in couponing - but am simply flabbergasted about how much prices have gone up.  The place I see this most is in the kitchen. It's taken a bit of creativity (and a lot of planning) to try and keep our grocery bill as low as possible, while still eating well.

So having said all that, I would really like to see my blog as a place where to share my journey to living happy and healthy, living within our means - and enjoying the process.